Fatigue (medical)
The terms fatigue syndrome (FS ), Fatigue Syndrome or often shortened fatigue ( French for fatigue, exhaustion translated ) are used in medicine in different contexts. Fatigue is a symptom that accompanies several chronic diseases; it may also represent an independent disease, according to current international opinion.
Uses of the term
While standard medical dictionaries, the term fatigue either not recorded, such as the Pschyrembel, or simply translated as " exhaustion ", FS is often used in Germany as a term for a conditional cancer syndrome. The term is used by these German physicians primarily in the treatment of cancer patients in oncology and palliative care. In the English literature is for this particular reason, however, the term Cancer Fatigue usual.
In contrast, Fatigue by other doctors as a general fatigue symptoms, as a result of severe chronic heart and lung disease or other chronic diseases such as sarcoidosis, rheumatoid, vasculitis, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, AIDS, lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease, ankylosing spondylitis (Morbus spondylitis ) and pulmonary hypertension used. Fibromyalgia can result in a severe form of fatigue.
Separate from this is: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ( CFS ICD -10 G93.3 ), which has a similar symptom complex, is, however, regarded as a separate disease, currently still relatively unknown cause. It is described in detail in reference articles.
Under Fatigue continues to fall not the burn- out syndrome ( Z73.0 ) or other non-specific fatigue, malaise, and fatigue than the ( R53 ) are classified.
Pathogenesis of cancer
The pathogenesis of fatigue syndrome in cancer is not yet clearly established. Mostly it is considered to be multifactorial etiology, are involved in the body when cancer is also psychological factors, blood disorders and nutritional influences. For them, the fatigue is caused by the disease itself or in conjunction with chemotherapy or radiation. They usually keeps weeks to months after the treatment period and also affects the quality of life often considerable. Typical features are a persistent weakness and fatigue despite adequate sleep phases, overburdening already at low loads and a significant decrease in activity in the private and professional environment.
A study by the University of Iowa showed an association between pain and fatigue, which may explain why more women than men suffer from chronic pain disorders. Through an experiment with mice, it was found that male animals are protected from muscle pain and fatigue by an interaction of testosterone and the protein ASIC3.
Therapy in cancer
Therapeutic primarily to a compensation of a possibly existing anemia (anemia) is possibly also exerted by blood transfusions and a carefully dosed physical endurance training in oncology.
Guidelines
S3 guideline fibromyalgia syndrome: definition, pathophysiology, diagnosis and therapy of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Pain Therapy ( DIVS ). In: AWMF online ( as of 2012)